As if casting out demons isn’t hard enough, five-hundred-year-old Nesy has to masquerade as a teenage girl to do it.
Nesy is the best of an elite group of angels – warriors called Sentinals – charged with the job of vanquishing the fallen. She’s never made a mistake, never gotten emotionally involved. But when she comes face-to-face with Aydan, she freezes.

He is evil incarnate. A fallen angel that feeds off the souls of others. Everything Nesy is supposed to hate. But she can’t, because he’s also the human love of her former life as a teen; a life that ended too soon, tying her to emotions she should never feel. Now she must choose between doing her duty – damning Aydan to the fiery depths of hell – or saving him, and condemning herself.

***FORMALLY PUBLISHED AS LACRIMOSA

July 2018 Update: Please note that since writing this review, the names of the books in Requiem have changed. The title of the post reflects new name and book covers have been updated as well. The new titles are as follows:

Lacrimosa is now Sentinal’s Tears.Libera Me is now UnHoly Death.Dominus is now Redemption’s Kiss.

Ah man! I don’t even know where to start…..Usually reviews are easy for me to write, but this one……Everything I want to write is on the tips of my fingers I just don’t know how to get it out!!!!

Okay (((deep breaths)))……Let’s start with just a summary.

Lacrimosa book one of the Requiem Series by Christine Fonseca is a story about angels and demons, good vs. evil, and forbidden romance. The story starts in NYC. Nesy, who is a Sentinel from Celestium, has been sent to Earth in human disguise to vanquish an Unholy: enter Aydan. Aydan is an Unholy, but not only that, he is the apprentice to Azza (basically think Devil himself, the ultimate villain). However, after seeing Aydan for the first time, Nesy cannot bring herself to kill him. Why? Because he reminds her of a past she was made to forget, about a human she fell in love with while on assignment as a Guardian….confused yet? It gets worse! Once Aydan sees her, he feels an overwhelming urge to protect her. Why? Because she reminds him of a human he fell in love with who was killed and led to his fall from Celestium. Again, confused? So was I!!!

What I liked about this story:
1.The world building. I loved Fonseca’s view of angels. Their jobs (Guardian, Sentinel, Mediator, the Anointed) and how the color of their skin and wings reflect those jobs. It just built a beautiful picture in my mind all the scarlet and indigo and gold and emerald. Not only imagery but sensory as well with the way the angels smelled to one another, like Nesy is described as smelling of “vanilla and sunshine”. When I read that I felt like I connected somehow.
2. Azza. This was probably my favorite character throughout the book. There is just something about a good villain that drives the story. He’s pure evil. And I loved it!
3. The Plot, once I was no longer confused (about 60% of the way into the book). This forbidden love angle between Aydan and Nesy drove the story. This will she kill him or won’t she. Will Aydan drink her soul or won’t he.

What I disliked about the story:
1. Alternating POVs. Usually I love this! I love stories like Veronica Rossi‘s Under the Never Sky Series where as the reader you get a chance to see inside the head of the two MCs or two love interests. However I feel it was poorly done in this novel. The writing style for both Nesy’s and Aydan’s POVs were so similar that I had to constantly keep checking the beginning of each chapter to be sure whose POV I was in.
2. Overuse of italics. Yes that can be a dislike!!!! For me it was so distracting. I wasn’t sure if the character was bipolar or someone else was speaking to them telepathically (because yes, as a part of this angel-verse, the angels and demons can manipulate and go into your mind all Darth Vader style!)
3. The Main Characters. I was apathetic towards both Nesy and Aydan. I didn’t feel any real connection with them (as stated above, I liked, no LOVED Azza! Who likes the villain of a story?) I felt like Nesy was too wishy-washy. One minute she’s all like I’m going to kill Aydan, it’s my duty. The next she’s like But I love him, I can’t live without him. Same goes for Aydan. One minute he’s debating killing her and the next he’s protecting her from whatever evil Azza thinks up.

Redeeming Quality: THE ENDING!!!!View Spoiler »The last ten chapters or so of the book, I was no longer confused. Aydan’s and Nesy’s full stories have been revealed along with more of Azza’s plans for Aydan. An all out Angels vs. demons war ensues, and Nesy’s hope is to save Aydan before Azza can complete the ritual to turn him into the Beast. Nesy saves him but it costs her life. Broken Aydan back in Celestium asks the Council to kill him, send him to the Abyss. However the Council has other plans. They grant him mortality, a human life spent hopefully in peace. However Aydan (again with the wishy-washy feelings) feels that it is worse to live as a human with his memories than to be in the Abyss. That is until a girl walks into his classroom, and he is attracted to her. He just knows that it is Nesy, alive and human. The book ends with this quote: “Maybe I will be okay in this life now. With her.” Really dude? You don’t even know if it is Nesy!!!! So frustrating….rant over 🙂 « Hide Spoiler

Because of my apathy towards the characters I just can’t give this book more than 3 stars, maybe 3.5 because I just like Azza so darn much! But lucky me! This edition of Lacrimosa came with the short novella Dies Irae which I heartily give 5 stars! I loved it so much!!

Dies Irae is the backstory to Mikayel and Azza’s friendship and Azza’s fall from Celestium. Because this is supposed to be a review about Lacrimosa not Dies Irae I won’t say too much, but will leave you with my favorite Azza quote:

I want to know what it is to love, to hate, to lust, to kill. I want it all. And I shouldn’t.

Is that not great or what?!

Truthfully, I feel reading the novella before reading the book would help with some of the confusion. Would I recommend this book? Yes! If you like angel/demon stories, this is definitely one you’ll enjoy!

About Christine Fonseca

Critically acclaimed nonfiction and YA author Christine Fonseca is dedicated to helping children of all ages find their voice in the world. In fiction, she explores the darker aspects of humanity and delivers gothic thrillers that take you on a roller coaster ride of emotions.

When she isn't crafting her next book, she can be found sipping too many skinny vanilla lattes at her favorite coffee house or exploring the world with her family.

2 responses to “Review: Sentinal’s Tears by Christine Fonseca”

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